Ranma Next
by Malak
Summary: The adventures of Saito Saotome, as he tries to follow in his father's footsteps.


Disclaimer: Now for the legal stuff. The characters of Ranma 1/2 belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz. I do not own them or make money off of them so please don't sue me. I'm just doing this for fun, okay. The new characters, however, I made up and are mine. 

Author's notes: This story takes about 16 years after the final Ranma 1/2 episode (Though I may have changed the ending a little bit). Though the kids are the stars, the old cast still plays a big part in the story. Well, hope you like the story! 

============================ Ranma Next Act I The Saotome Catalyst Theory Part I First Day ============================ by Malak 

Its the same, no matter how many times it happens. I'm in an abandoned warehouse, when all of a sudden, I'm jumped by five armed punks. They all jump me, two of them revealing switchblades. Everytime, I use the same procedure. I jump kick the first guy, and using his face as a springboard, spin kick an other in the face. I use the tenshin-amaguriken that my father taught me and take him out easily. The fourth guy runs at me, but I flip him over my shoulder and out the window. The other guy starts chasing me, swinging his switchblade. At this time, I decide to have some fun. I let the guy chase me around, following a spiral pattern. When I come to the center, I yell another cry I also thank my father for. 

"HIRYU SHOTEN HA!" 

Not only does the guy go up, but the entire roof of the warehouse goes up as well. I smirk a little bit and admire my handiwork. 

"Is that the best you can do?" a voice asks. 

I'm about to ask who is it, when I'm transported to another place. Its a High School. I look at a sign and it reads Furinkan High School. 

"Hm hm hm hm hm!!! This is a worthy place for someone of your abilities. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" says the voice. 

Before I can look around for the voice again, an army of fighters comes running at me. Some are sumo wrestlers, others are hockey players, tennis players, kendo fighters, and even chemists. All totally different from each, but each have a common thread. They're all shouting for mom's name. They also have their weapons pointed at me, and ready to run me through. I jump kick the nearest foe which happens to be a baseball player. The kick misses the mark completely, and he hits a home run using my head. I sent flying into the air and into the kendo fighter. With a smirk on his face, the kendo fighter swats me into the wall. Before I can get up, They are all around me, and proceed to stomp me into next week. After a couple of minutes of this a voice rings out.... 

"Is that really the best you can do?" 

At this time, my assailants vanish. This gives me time to get up and recuperate. "Ready for round 2, kiddo?" he says. 

I'm transported to the roof of Furinkan High. Across from me is a certain bandanna clad, umbrella wielding man that I've heard only through dad's stories. What's different about him is his eyes are glowing red. He sprints at me with amazing speed, and strikes me across the chest with his umbrella weapon. I never dreamed the weapon was that powerful. I go flying so far that I nearly fly off the roof. I regain my footing and run after the fiend. I go for the Tenshin-Amaguriken, but he manages to avoid every punches, and jumps back across the roof. As I run after him, I see him rise his hand, stick out a finger, and touch the roof. The roof collapses and I fall into the gym. I look up and I see another fiend. This one has long black hair and glasses, and he's dressed in a long black robe. His eyes are also glowing red, and is also a character that my father has told me about in his stories. I see a smirk slowly spread across his face. In a swift motion, he rises his arms and chains start shooting out of the robe. I jump up and grab hold of a training rope to avoid them. I start get some momentum on the rope, and swing into the fiend. The fiend strikes me with a weapon so fast, I can't tell what the weapon was, though I swear it was a duck potty trainer. At any rate, it was a powerful blow, because I'm flying out the window to another section of the school. I land in the front of the school with yet another field. This one dressed like a samurai from one of those old kung-fu movies and is carrying a bokken sword. Like the others he also has red eyes. Like the others, I have the feeling I've heard of this guy before. 

"Saotome!" He said. "I shall smite thee!" 

With that, he attacked me with his bokken thrusts, striking a bout 5 strikes per second. I was able to most of them, till I lost my footing. I end up taking ten bokken thrusts to the chests. I collapse and fall on all fours. I look up and see all three fiends. Then in the middle, my parents appear. My father steps forward and laughs. 

"You want to take over the dojo?" My father loses himself and starts laughing again. "Please. Why would I entrust it to someone so weak? The idea that you're my son makes me sick. You hear me Saito? Saito. Saito. Hey Saito. Saito....." 

* * * 

"I love my brother and all, but there are times when he really pushes it." Midori thought to herself. "He was the one who kept going on and on about going to Furinkan High. Kept saying it would be the final test that would prove that he's worthy of taking over the dojo when he gets older. Now look at him! Still sleeping with only five minutes left till school! The dummy!" 

"......wake up, Saito! C'mon, you dummy, wake up!" 

"...Huh? What? Oh, morning' Midori." 

"You dummy! Thanks to you, we're about to be late on our first day of High School!" Midori yell pointing at the clock. 

"What are you talking about?" Saito says lazily. "Its only......" he pauses as he as he gets a good look at the clock. "...oh shoot!" 

"The one constant thing about my brother," Midori thinks to herself as Saito does a three sixty flip over her head and bolts for the bathroom. "is that he's the biggest show off I've ever met in my short life. Constantly putting the skills he has on display. I myself, save my abilities till absolutely necessary. That way, if the need arises, I have the element of surprise with me....oh, dear. I better get going!" 

* * * 

"Okay, sis!" Saito says, stepping out of the bathroom wearing the hand-me downs father gave him. "Let's g....?" Saito pauses seeing no one in the room. He looks around till he comes to the obvious conculsion. 

"That little pip-squeak!" Saito yells, clenching his fist. "No time to say good-bye to the folks, I'd better book!" 

Saito opened his sister's window, and jumped across to the neighbor's roof. He ran along the roof and jumped to other roof. He continued this process, heading in the direction of the High School. 

"Man, I love being a martial artist!" Saito said doing a double 360 onto another roof. "Man, I can't believe she left without me! Miss Perfect is going to get it the next time I see...." he pauses as he sees a familiar figure rushing towards Furinkan High. 

"Well, well, well. Looky what I see." 

* * * 

"I'm gonna make it! I'm gonna make it!" Midori repeats to herself as she just start nearing the gates. "Its on the 5th bong, so I gotta hurry." 

Bong! "Have to make it! Have to make it!" 

Bong! 

"Gonna make it! Gonna ma...why is it getting dark all of a sudden?" 

"Bong!" 

"Let's see. If I just follow the silhouette, it shows the outline is human, and...oh no! Saito n-!!" She is unable to finish as her older brother lands on top of her. 

"Hey, dear sister!" 

"Boing!" 

"That'll teach you not to ditch me like that. You're just lucky....." 

Saito would have continued talking, had his sister hadn't grabbed him by his legs and thrown him into a wall. Groaning and feeling pain throughout his body, Saito slowly got up. He looked at his sister and went wide-eyed. She was glowing dark red. 

"YOU IDIOT!!!" She yelled. "HOW DARE YOU! BECAUSE OF YOU, I'M LATE FOR THE FIRST DAY OF HIGH SCHOOL!!!! I'M NEVER GONNA GET INTO A GOOD COLLEGE NOW!!! NEVER!!!! 

At this point, the red glow was turning into a dark crimson. She then concentrated and the glow went to her hands. Her eyes now glowing, she said "NOW, YOU SHALL BE EXTERMINATED FROM THIS PLANE OF EXISTENCE!!!!!!!!" 

Saito was in trouble. Normally in this situation, he would beat the guy down within an inch of his life. That option was out of the question, since it was his sister. That meant doing something he didn't do that often. Think his way out. 

"Hey look! It's a college dean who's giving early acceptance into college!" he yelled pointing behind her. "This isn't going to work!" he thought in the back of his mind. 

"Where?! Where?!" asked Midori, looking everywhere where Saito was pointing. 

Saito's face faulted. 

* * * 

"Hey, there's no dean here." Midori said a few minutes later. Midori turned around to Saito's position. "Saito, you must be seeing things...." Midori stopped when she realized no one was there. 

"SSSSAAAAAAAAIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTOOOOO!!!!!" 

* * * 

Saito quickly hugged a corner and hid behind a wall. After checking to see if Midori was following, he breathed a sigh of relief. He'd live with that girl for over 13 years, and had known to stay away from her when she was like that. With mother's temper she was bad enough, but with fathers ki abilities she could be very destructive. After a while, and of the scare of Midori in "Berserker Mode" wore off, Saito was soon overcome with joy. He was here! After years of just hearing stories about it, after years of speculation, after years of daydreaming of the day, he had finally entered Furinkan High. Furinkan High, the battleground that made his father into the warrior he was. Finally, he would prove to his father, his mother, his sister, and everyone else he is worthy of running the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. All he has to do is win one or two life-or-death battles, and he'll be set. 

"Ha ha ha ha ha! No one can stop me now!" Saito yelled. 

So Saito stood there, laughing to his heart's content. At the point in time, he was probably the happiest boy in Japan. He was also the most oblivious boy in Japan, due to the fact every student in school had their eyes on him. 

* * * 

"Who's the laughing man over there?" asked a student, motioning over to Saito. 

"Oh him? That's Saito Saotome. Went to school with him, he's-" 

"Did you say Saotome?" 

"Well yeah..." 

"As in son to the Legendary Ranma Saotome?" 

"Well, yeah I guess." 

"You know what this means?" 

* * * 

Midori stormed in here homeroom, cursing Saito under her breath. She sat at her desk still cursing the semen that swam up her mom's birth canal that black day. Because of that moron, she was late on her first day. On her first day! She knew what this meant. An entire scenario passed in her head. She's late on her first day, then the teachers believe she's a slacker, then she's blamed for incidents since she was the first recognized slacker, which would lead to an eventual suspension, causing her to get a job at Joe's Bar & Grill as a waitress, and thus totally ruining her life. And it was all Saito's fault!!! 

"So...what he do this time?" 

"That idiot has just ruined killed my High School career before it started." 

"Really?" the stranger said sarcastically. "How he pull that off?" 

"Well, you see he..." she paused, realizing she had no idea who she was talking to. She turned to her right to see who it was. She girl was medium height, brown eyes, light green hair, which went into a ponytail down to her shoulders. She then realized she should have recognized the voice. 

"Hey cousin Noriko! What are you doing here?" 

"I've been going here for a year now, remember?" 

"Oh, sorry." She stopped and peered at here cousin's hair. Last time she remembered, her hair was brown. She could understand black, red, even orange. But light green? 

"You're wondering about the hair, right?" asked Noriko. 

"Yes, it does rise an eyebrow or two." 

Noriko smirked at the reply. A smirk which was also a birth right. Noriko was the daughter of Tatewaki Kuno and Nabiki Tendo. Out of all of her relatives, Noriko was her favorite and best friend since the day they met. 

"This, my dear Mid-chan." she said pointing to her hair. "Just so happens to be the latest fashion." she finished with a look of supremacy in her eyes. 

"....where?" asked Midori. 

Noriko's smirk vanished into a look of disdain. 

"In Japan." she answered flatly. 

"Mmm hmmm. Where in Japan?" She asked, this time holding back a giggle. 

"Look! You're beginning to sound like my mom! Can we please drop the subject?" 

Midori replied with a smirk of her own. She wasn't going to let it go that easily. 

"So everyone that wears it like that," she said. "Do they, I don't know, even exist?" she said with just a hint of sarcasm. 

* * * 

Saito was getting a little annoyed. He had been at the stupid school for over three hours, and not one super powerful martial artist had crossed his path. Not one guy swearing revenge for something he bearly remembered doing, no one saying he would be smited. Nothing, zlitch, nada, nothing. Saito was started to worry. His father met his first martial arts nemesis, and got into his first fight in the first half hour of being in Furinkan. Here an three hours had past and still not even an argument. 

"Maybe," he thought to himself. "I'm doing something wrong. How did the stories go? Hmmm............." 

Saito thought a little bit. He thought of the stories of his father fighting amazons, student samurai, lucky gods, old ghouls, eternal lost boys, etc.,etc. Now how he pull that off? To the best Saito could recall, the problems always seemed to find him. Wait a minute, that couldn't be right. It would be impossible for every single instance to be the other guy's fault. At any rate, he had to get into a fight and soon. He got an idea. Why not he start it? All they really remember is who wins fights, right? Not who the jerk who started it was. Saito looked around. You see, Saito had one belief about Furinkan. That belief was quite simple. If your in the school, your a super powerful martial artist. That ranged from the teachers to the jocks to the nerds. So any one in the school was game. With that decided, Saito looked around for an appetizer to begin. 

* * * 

Kaz looked up and down the halls for his locker. His first day here wasn't going that bad. Found his homeroom okay, and most of the people here were real nice. He had just found his locker, and was about to open it, when shadow covered him. Kaz looked up to see a certain pigtailed boy looming over him. 

"Hello there." he said smugly, cracking his knuckles. 

"Ah...eh hi." He replied questioningly. 

"My name is Saito Saotome. Yours? 

"Its Kaz Minakami." 

"If I'm not mistaken...you're a student of Furinkan, correct?" 

Kaz took a closer inspection of the form before him. The pigtailed boy seem very excited. Now feverishly rubbing his hands, the boy looked liked he was close to drooling. His body was extremely rigid from the anticipation. "Ah, yeah." Kaz replied. 

"Good," said Saito. He then relaxed his entire body, letting it go limp, and let his head drop. Saito then started laughing, a sick, twisted, psycho type laugh that made everyone in the hallway stop and take notice of the situation. 

"Okay then." he said after finally ceasing his laughter. He then snapped into fighting stance and grinned. "Wanna fight?" 

* * * 

Midiro and Noriko made their way to their fourth period class. After talking a bit in homeroom, they came to realize that they have all of the same classes. Noriko, who loved her cousin, was starting to wish to God that she be struck down. Three classes, and she wouldn't shut up about the hair. 

"Okay!" exclaimed Noriko. "Let's talk about another subject. Let's talk about how short you are." 

"Excuse me!?!?!" Midori shouted. 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" 

The blood curdling scream could be heard throughout the school. 

"....The heck was that?" asked Midori. 

* * * 

The day Kaz was having quickly went from decent to suck. It started okay, but now this pigtailed psychopath was chasing him through the hallways firing ki blasts. This was definitely not what he expect in a bully. Stuff his head in a toilet, steal his money, but fireballs were just too much. As much as he'd like to stick around, he decided he'd better book. "This guy is nuts!" he thought. "I gotta get out of here. Yes! There's the exit!" 

* * * "I think the scream came from over there." Noriko said. 

"This is cool." stated Midori. "Our first day, and already there's a fight going on." 

"And what a fight we have." Said Noriko, pointing to the destruction caused around the halls. Many of the lockers were blasted in, a few had been melted, and while others had foot and hand prints in them. Finding the fight was simply a matter of following their path of destruction. "You know, this is very weird." said Noriko. "What? A fight in school?" Midori said sarcastically. 

"In Furinkan, yes." 

"Huh?" 

"Well, I found out a lot of stuff about this school last year. Get this. Did you know that there hasn't been one fight in Furinkan since your dad graduated?" 

"You're kidding." 

"No, honest. Not a single fight. Seeing how this was such a dramatic twist of events, seeing that Furinkan was once a central for martial artists everywhere, the geniuses at Furinkan studied the problem. They came up with a theory known as the Saotome Catalyst Theory." 

"The what?" 

"The Sao-" 

"I heard you the first time." Midori interrupted. "What does it mean?" 

"The Saotome Catalyst Theory basically describes your dad as the catalyst for all that happened in Furinkan. Since your dad came to this school, he was the cause for most things happening. Ryouga came looking for revenge, Shampoo came for a groom, Mousse came for Shampoo, etc, etc, etc. This theory not only holds true for Furinkan, but for all of Japan! 

"So let me get this straight." Said Midori, amused by this theory. "All the legendary battles, and all the martial artists in Nerima is because of my dad?" 

"It makes sense when you think about it. They were all here for Ranma in some way, shape, or form. Meaning you and Saito have quite the destiny." 

"Huh. What does that mean?" 

"You and Saito are Saotomes. Meaning, in theory, you both have catalyst blood in you. Meaning your mere presence will have tremendous effects on this school and Nerima!" 

"Wow, it took me a while to figure this out, but I've finally figured it out." Midori yelled, pointing to Noriko. "You're insane." 

BBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!! 

"It came from the soccerfield, let's go!" yelled Noriko. Midori followed in disillusion. Could it really be possible her mere presence would have that kind of effect? 

* * * "Come back here!" yelled Saito. "Mokou-Takabisha!" Another beam of ki streamed from his hands. A the last second, though, Kaz moved out of the way. "Ah, this is a very resourceful foe. He already knows the Saotome Secret Technique of running away....never really understood that technique." Saito fired one last shot, this one hitting him right in his back side, which sent him flying through the exit to the soccer field. "YYYYYYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" yelled Kaz, who was holding his rear end as he went flying through the exit. The blast, while it destroyed lockers and walls, it wouldn't melt or destroy Kaz. Either that, or he'd wasted a lot of energy on the shots he fired before. Kaz finally skidded along the grass and into the goal. Kaz turned to see his assailant standing over him. 

"All right!" Saito thought to himself. "This guy is easy, for a Furinkan martial artist...maybe a little too easy. Nah, it probably because of my superior ability." Looking down at Kaz raised his fists, which began to glow. 

"All right Kaz. Game set and-accckkk!" 

"Huh?" said a surprised Kaz. He looked up to see a now unconscious Saito, with a furious short girl holding a mallet where Saito's head used to be. 

* * * 

Saito woke up with both a tremendous headache and a tremendous bump on his head. He looked to where Kaz was and saw he was still there except he was now standing. 

"How....did you..do..that?" Asked Saito still holding his head. "He didn't!" said a familiar angry voice. 

Saito turned to see an enraged Midori. "What are you doing here?!" Saito said while getting up. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of an epic battle?" 

Midori turned to Kaz and examined the figure. Kaz was just a little taller than Midori, he had about an average build, and was breathing heavily. She slowly turned to Saito and said "You've got to be kidding me." 

Saito turned and raised his eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Saito look at him," Kaz looked up at this point. "He's scrawny, weak, out of shape, absolutely no-" 

"Okay, okay! I think we'll get the point!" Kaz angrily interjected. 

"But he goes to Furinkan, so he must be strong." said Saito "Where the heck did you came to that conculsion?!" yelled Kaz, still ticked off about the entire situation. He quickly silenced himself when Saito threw a gaze at him. 

"Does this have anything to do with dad's stories?" asked Midori. 

"...sorta." 

"Let me ask you something, Saito." said Midori, who was trying to keep her temper in check. "In all those stories did dad ever, oh I don't know, attack someone for no reason?" 

"Well....no." answered. 

"Great." said Midori. Midori then grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to her face. "So you mind telling me WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" 

"Hey, hey! Let go of me!" Saito yelled as he separated from Midori's grip. As he turned he finally noticed Noriko, who was typing something down on an electronic gizmo. He turned back to Midori "Look, there was no harm done here, Taz-" 

"Kaz." Corrected Kaz. 

"Whatever. Is fine, so there's no harm done." 

"Well, actually..." said Noriko. All eyes went too her. She was still computing on the gizmo. At the sound of a ping, a slip of long white paper came up. After reading it a little, she said "According to this, you owe the school....5,000,000 yen." 

"What!?" Saito and Midori exclaimed in unison. 

"Well, with all the destruction you caused along the hallway and lockers, you bet you guys are gonna get a big bill for it. I'm not even gonna say what'll happen if they show up." 

"Who?" asked Midori. 

"The Quar-" Noriko was interrupted by four flames igniting around them. The flames were the size of the average person, and each was a different color. One red, the next was black, another blue, and the last was purple. The black one died down, revealing a human figure. He had long curly black hair which just covered his eyes. He had a black top hat and a goatee. He wore on his body a black T-shirt with the name Antranx on it, with the sleeves ripped off, and blue shorts. He was holding in his hands what looked like a guitar but it had an ax bade at the base. Then the purple one died down revealing another human, this one a female. This one had short brown hair and a backwards baseball cap on. She wore a green shirt with a smiley face on it. She had a red long sleeved shirt tied around his waist and had a pair of kake shorts. She also had two billy clubs, one in each hand, and had a skateboard on her back. The blue one died down, revealing another male figure. This was probably the largest of the group. He had long, blond hair which blanketed one of his eyes. His body was covered in a full body surfer suit. His weapon was what appeared to be a mix of a sword and a surfboard. Finally, the red blaze went out, revealing another male figure. This was the best dressed of the bunch, sporting a samurai robe. He had short black hair and and you could tell by the look in his face that he was a snob. His weapon was a wooden bokken. The one with the bokken stepped forward and said "Art though the infidel called Saito Saotome?" 

"Yeah, I'm Saito." Saito said, still a bit in aw about the entrance they made. "And who are you?" The man closed his eyes and smirked. "Oh, the infidel knows not of me, eh. Hm hm hm hm. HA HA HA HA!!! Perhaps the only civil thing to do, is to introduce myself!" Around the man, lightening crackled and the once clear day turned cloudy. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the Furinkan Warrior of myth and legend, the perfect combination of strength and intelligence, I'm the backbone of the Kuno administration, and leader of the Quarter Samurai!" Blue, black, purple, and red thunder clapped as he said this. "I am the Red Blaze of Furinkan High! But you may call me....Genji !!!" Thunder clapped all around at the finish of his monologue. Saito looked at the other Quarter Samurai. He wasn't sure, but they all seemed to role there eyes at the same time. "Honestly brother, do you have to cause a tropical storm with every mention of your name?' Noriko stated, with her face in her hand. 

Saito and Midori looked at each other then at Noriko, then at Genji, and finally cried in unison "Brother?!?!" It was Genji's turn to role up his eyes. "Yes, believe it or not, this harpy is my sister." "HARPY!?!" shouted Noriko. "The heck's that supposed to mean?" Genji sneered. "At any event, I have been sent on mission, which I plan to complete." Genji turned and looked at Saito. "Your presence has been demanded by Principal Kuno. To refuse, is to take on the Quarter Samurai." At the end of that speech, the Quarter Samurai readied their weapons. Saito looked around cautiously. While Saito knew he failed in getting a challenge from Kaz, even he could see that these guys fit the bill in the challenge department. However, he had to take several things into account. Number one, he was outmatched 4 to 1. Number two, Saito has never fought anyone with there skill, let alone their skill times four. And three, his sister,cousin, and a bystander were close by. 

"All right, I'll go." 

"Excellent. Do be so kind to follow us." Genji took a step and looked back. "You there!" He yelled pointing to Kaz. "You're wanted as well." 

"For what?" asked Kaz. This situation was getting to be to much for him. "What did I do?!" 

Genji replied by raising his bokken to his neck. "Ours is not to ask, but to do." Genji said. 

Saito ran in-between them, shoving Genji down. The other Quarter Samurai raised in, surrounded Saito, with all weapons pointed at his head. Saito realized here that he was trapped. He looked to Genji, realizing his fate probably rested on him. 

Genji got up. He had never been shoved down before, and he didn't like it one bit. He raised his bokken, ready to slash Saito who was being held by the other Quarter Samurai. Luckily for Saito, Genji lowered his bokken and even started laughing. 

"How courageous of you, hero." Genji said, dusting off the spot where Saito touched him. "Time is fleeting. Let's go." Genji took a step, stopped, turned to Saito and raised his bokken to his neck. "I believe in destiny, Saotome." Genji said calmly, as he slowly made on arc on Saito's neck with his bokken. "There will be a time." Genji turned to Midori and Noriko. "Ladies, I bid you adieu." With that the Quarter Samurai, Kaz, and Saito headed to the School. 

* * * 

Midori, who had been silent through most of the situation, turned to Noriko and exclaimed the only thing that was on her mind. 

"Since when do you have an brother?" 

Noriko turned to Midori and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'since when do I have a brother?' I've always had Genji around since I remember." 

"Oh come on! I've known you since you were five, and I don't remember any older brother." 

"Well, Genji likes to keep mostly to himself. He found outside life droll, and the outside denizens simplistic knaves." 

"What?" 

"The world boring and the people to be morons." Noriko said flatly. 

"Oh." 

"I guess he suffers from some sort of superiority complex. He hates idiots of any kind and would rather have nothing to do with them." 

Midori thought to herself for moment. While smart, Midori sometimes took a little while to catch on. 

"Wait a sec! You mean to tell me he thinks I'm a moron!?!" 

Noriko could only laugh at her cousin. She always did take everything too personal. "Hey, don't take it personally. You could have been Einstein and he would have thought of you as idiot. Besides, he's only seen you once, and chances are you were talking about who was your favorite power ranger was. You never saw him again because he hid himself in his room whenever you or the anyone else came." Noriko said. 

Midori could understand the vanishing act completely now. In a normal house, it would be impossible for one to hide for so long, but this was the Kuno Estate. The Estate was so huge, one could very easily disappear if you knew the place well enough. The Mansion brought knew meaning to the phrase "you can't tell a book by its cover." This was due to all the underground passage ways that existed beneath the compound. It was anyone's guess how big the place was. 

Midori turned to her side, after hearing crying sounds. It was Noriko, who had a tear rolling down each cheek. "...he decided to move with father after the....the..." Noriko refused to release the word. 

"Noriko..." Midori whispered. The divorce was still tough on her. Nabiki and Kuno divorced each other after twelve years of marriage. No one is to sure why they did it, it was just counted as one marriage that didn't work. Apparently, Genji decided to go with Tatewaki and Noriko decided to leave with Nabiki. 

"Hum...?" Noriko said, staring into her hands seeing tears in them. "Oh for the love..." She said, wiping away the tears from her face. "Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm. If mom could see me now." she said giggling to herself. She turned and saw the look of concern on Midori's face. The sight of that, lightened her mood, and allowed her to regain her smirk. 

"Oh, don't tell me you're getting all emotional on me, Mid-chan." 

It was a smart-aleck remark at best, but Midori let it slide. That attitude was part of Noriko and she was used to it. Besides, it meant she was okay. A sense of alarm overcame Midori . She quickly checked her watch and exclaimed "Oh my god! We've missed half of the period already! This is just great! First I'm late, and now I miss most of the period! Noriko came on, we're going!" Midori exclaimed, as she grabbed Noriko's arm. With all her superhuman strength, she hauled Noriko with her as they sped towards the school. 

* * * 

"So honey, what did you do today in school?" Kaz said in a feminine voice. "Oh nothing really," he said in his normal voice. "Oh there, was one thing. I was getting ready for my third class, when this homicidal maniac chased me throughout the school shooting fireballs at me....." 

"Oh come on!" Saito interrupted. "I've already said I was sorry several times." 

"Well, wupdeedo!" Kaz said. 

Saito and Kaz were being lead by the four strangely dressed warriors through the halls to the principals. Saito looked over to Kaz. In the short time they've known each other, Saito has figured out a thing or two about him. For the most part, he couldn't fight to save his life, for real. That fact dispelled his theory that all students in this place were superpowerful. As far as he knew, he and these four were the only ones capable of a fight. The another thing about Kaz was he was very opinionated. Perhaps too opinionated. 

"So tell me something, genius. What exactly about me screamed martial artist. I left my Gi at home so it couldn't be that. Mr. Meogi wasn't there, and I wasn't in any crane position. So tell me what was it?" Saito had about enough of this. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe those muscles of yours, oh wait, you don't have any." said Saito. He turned his head, snickering to himself in triumph. 

Kaz didn't believe it to be so funny. "Oh, that's funny." Kaz said sarcastically. Kaz decided to change the subject. So, you're a Saotome?" 

"Saito Saotome, son of Ranma and Akane." Saito said blankly. 

"Really? You know of heard some rumors you Saotomes." 

Saito looked directly at Kaz. "Such as?" 

A smirk appeared on Kaz's face. "Well, that males tend to be moronic, ugly cretins." Kaz, grin still intact, looked over Saito. "I guess there are some truth in rumors after all." 

Kaz would have started to laugh, if Saito's hands hadn't immediately wrap around his throat. 

* * * 

While Midori & Noriko had missed most of their third period class, luckily it was a study hall, so the acadamic damage was pretty much moot. Since it was a free period, this gave Midori a chance to ask some questions. 

* * * 

After the four martial artists had pried Saito's hands from Kaz's throat, the separated these two for the rest of the trip to the principal's office. The doors to the office were huge and majestic. Just like doors he'd heard of in story books belonging to castles and manors. So far, this was nothing like a principal's office he remember in elementary. Genji stared at Saito as Saito continued to stare at door. 

"Hm hm hm, my my." Genji bellowed. "As low class as you are, I'd imagine you would have seen a door by now." Genji finished with a smirk. 

Saito stared right through Genji, burning a hole right through him. "I really don't like this guy." Saito thought to himself. 

Genji stared right back at Saito. "I don't think he likes me." He thought to himself. "Come." Genji said, motioning to the door. "Your Principal awaits." * * * 

Midori sat at her desk for a few moments, and pondered what happened in the first few hours in her day. It started first with her being late for school and nearly killing her brother. Then later in the day, she finds that her brother had destroyed a good quarter of the school using attacks taught by dad. All to attack a guy who isn't even at his level. But what was bothering her at the moment, was who those four people were. 

Noriko looked backed at her cousin. She had her head down in her arms, looking off into space. She could always tell when something was bugging her, and this appeared to be one of those times. 

"You're wondering who the they are, aren't you?" asked Noriko. "That would be a safe assumption." Midori said. "Who exactly are the Quarter Samurai?" 

"Hmmm, where do I begin? The Quarter Samurai were started by the principal as a way of maintaining order in his school." 

"I thought you said there hasn't been any fights since my dad graduated?" Midori asked. 

"True, but that doesn't mean other sorts of disturbances didn't happen." answered Noriko. "Once students heard of the past the principal, he was mock and laughed at for three quarters straight. He then thought up the idea for the Quarter Samurai. Their purpose in the school is basically to maintain order in school, which they have done quite well. Not only has there not been any fights, but not even a spitwad thrown in class. The Quarter Samurai will use any means necessary to maintain order, which is one reason every is so well behaved." 

"Skill-wise...how are they?" asked Midori. 

"They extremely talented, let's say." Noriko said. "Each of them, with the exception of my brother, are members of the top three Samurai families: Miyamoto, Tokugawa, and Fukushima. They have also been trained personally by the principal, and are capable of ki-based attacks." 

"That good, huh? You know, for all powerful samurai, that weren't really......dressed for the part." Said Midori. 

"Yes...well uh." Noriko said, as she tried to keep herself from laughing. "While they all have noble blood in them, that's about the only thing noble about them. All in all, they're pretty much the biggest bunch of slackers that Furinkan has ever seen. They wouldn't even be in the group, if it wasn't for their grades. That's how the principal got them in, by promising to rise their grades just enough to pass them." 

"Isn't that sort of illegal?" 

"Not really. Besides, memories of the past Furinkan still are memory with the parents. You know, climatic battles, innocent kids getting their life force sucked out of them, etc., etc. The parents believe the ends justify the means, so they just look the other way." 

"And let me guess. An incident like the one Saito did, could spoil the prncipal's perfect record. Meaning.... 

"...Saito is in deep trouble." finished Noriko. 

"Hey." asked Midori. "Who is the principal anyway?" 

* * * 

"Violin music?" Saito thought to himself as he was ushered into the Principal's office. A symphony of some sort was playing in the background while he was being lead through the office. This by far was the largest Principal's office he'd ever seen. In fact, it was the largest room he'd ever seen, period. The room appeared to be as big as the cafeteria, except it was much cleaner. The office was decorate with all sorts of historical treasures, from ancient pottery to majestic katanas. He looked at another quarter of the room, which had mats, a punching bag, and a whole assortment of kendo swords. Saito guessed this was a training area. The whole area was very well kept. Not even a scratch or smudge in sight. 

Saito and Kaz finally made it to the desk of the Principal, they were shoved into two chairs by the desks and forced to sit there. Mission apparently accomplished, the Quarter Samurai walked towards the front of the office and stood watch. Well, Genji did. The others walked to a monitor and watched television. 

The area around the desk was just as aw inspiring. The desk was big and well crafted. There was also a chair there with its back towards them. There were also library shelves that reached the ceiling and semi-surrounded the desk. I say semi-surrounded because just above the desk was a huge portrait of what Saito guessed was the principal. He was dressed in a black business suit, and had katana blade in his hand, sort of holding it in a cane position. He had short brown hair, and a pair of eyes that made one sort of feel inferior when hit by them. Then the music stopped, and the only sound made was one made by a nearby grandfather clock. 

"Awww, 'The Tale of the Tsar Saltan.' Truly, one of this world's greatest pieces." said a voice that screamed refinement. 

Then, the chair turned slowly. It revealed a body of someone. That unknown turned his face. The ticking of the grandfather clock slowed down, as the rest of time itself as the man's gaze reached Saito and Kaz. The same superior gaze that was in the portrait. 

"Please, forgive my lack of grace. Allow me to introduce myself." Said the man. Saito wasn't sure, but he swore he heard thunder. "I am the former undefeated captain of this school's kendo club. My voice still strikes fear in my enemies. I am the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High......Tatewaki Kuno. But you may call me Principal Kuno." 

* * * 

As Midori seated herself in her next class, she was really starting to worry. First, she found out that Tatewaki was the principal of Furinkan High, which smelled like complete doom for Saito. And now, this next class was her math class, and she knew for a fact that Saito was in this class with her, and yet, he was nowhere in sight. 

"This is bad." Midori said. "Its been well over a half-hour and not even a word from him. What on earth could be happening?" 

"When my father's involved, anything is a possibility." answered Noriko. "He could be torturing them....." 

At the mention of this Midori's face froze in terror. 

".....dad told of this method done in China called 'Death of a Thousand Cuts.' And you know how good he is with blades.... 

Midori's face went deeper. 

"..Or he could have just sent the Quarter Samurai loose on him..... 

Even deeper. 

"...I hear electricution is making a comeback...." 

At this point, Midori stood up, grabbed Noriko's shirt collar, and started shaking her while screaming "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" 

She did stop, however, when she noticed Noriko pointing towards the class. Midori turned to see the entire class staring at her, mouths wide open. A huge toothy grin was all she was able to pull off. 

* * * 

"....cutting off your heads, shooting them out of a cannon, and feeding your bodies to hungry animals. If we still lived in the noble age of the Samurai, that would have been your punishment for the atrocities that you have committed. But, as the accursed PTA reminds me, I cannot do such an act." Said Kuno. "But even if I were allowed to, I could not. This is a special case, is it not....Saito Saotome?" 

"You know this guy?" Kaz whispered to Saito. 

"Well...he's my...uncle." Saito answered. 

Kaz, after thinking about a bit, said "It figures. You're both maniacs." 

"Ahem." Kuno said, interrupting the two. Saito and Kaz immediately ceased their conversation and looked back at Kuno, who still had the look of superiority in his eyes. "Saito, you are my..nephew..and all, but do understand, this is business." 

"Yeah, right." Saito thought in back of his mind. Though they were related, there was really no love loss between the two. Ever since Kuno divorced with aunt Nabiki, as pop put it, Kuno turned back to his old vindictive self. He wasn't always that way, though. In the years he was married to aunt Nabiki, Kuno was actually a very kind man. He even helped with his martial arts training and sparred with him from time to time. But after the separation, Kuno went through some sort of persona metamorphosis. Kuno lashed out at everyone, venting all his past frustrations out. The one at the top of the list was dad. Dad ruined Kuno's final years in Furinkan and ended his high school years in disgrace. Kuno always wanted revenge on dad for that. He apparently believed that I fit into that equation of revenge. In our last sparring match, he surprised me using an all out assault on me, finally downing me with a ki attack. As I lay on the mat, I remember looking up at his face. I remember those same eyes looking at me. Those eyes that me feel so inferior, looking down at me. Luckily, dad got there in time and backed him off. He was also banished from the dojo that same day. 

What Saito wondered, was how Kuno became the Principal. Then it dawned on him. Before Tatewaki, Kuno's father was the principal. "It was a simple act of lineage," Saito guessed to himself. Neither the less, this new development wasn't good. 

"So, Saito. It would appear that you have decided to follow in your predecessor's footsteps. How endearing." Kuno said chuckling to himself. "One thing I will say about your insolent father, the property damage was never this grand." Principal Kuno then picked up a piece of paper from his desk, and slid it towards Saito. "In that piece of paper, you'll find the precise amount of money you owe Furinkan for your little...escapade. It should come to about..." 

"5,000,000 yen." answered Saito. 

"My, my.So something does lay in that head after all." replied Kuno. 

"Now wait a minute!" said Saito, trying to fight off the insults Kuno made. "I was engaged in combat at the time, and I had to defend myself!" 

Kuno turned his head towards Kaz and studied the figure sitting in chair. He then turned to Saito and said "Surely.. you jest?" 

"Okay." Kaz said, smiling a bit. "If I had known that you had to be able to snatch the pebble from Cain's hand in order to get respect from anyone, I would have. But.." 

"...Okay, so my choice in opponents wasn't so spectacular, but please....Principal Kuno, you know that my family can't afford to pay this! Can't we work something out here?" 

"Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm, hm." Kuno laughed. "For anyone else, there would be a remote chance of that, boy. But if he is the extent of your skills," Kuno said, pointing to Kaz. "Then I must regrettably, decline to your request. For you see, I refuse to do favors for weak, insignificant cretins such as yourself." 

At this point, Saito could take no more. It wasn't just the insults that were getting to him, he could shrug such things off pretty well when he wanted to. But it was also all the past things Kuno did in the past that got to him as well. That blast of ki he shot at him when he was a kid, the things he said about dad, but most importantly, to wipe that look of superiority off his face. 

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!" screamed Saito as he lunged for Kuno. While Saito lunged for him, Kuno remained rather stone faced. Saito braced himself for the collision, but he suddenly felt an anchor around his waist. Saito looked down and saw...Kaz? 

"The hell are you doing?!" Saito questioned angrily. 

"Think for once, Saito!" Kaz said. "This is exactly what he wants you to do!" 

"You mean he wants me to break him in two?" asked Saito. 

"Exactly." said Kaz. 

"You're stup-" 

"Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm, hm!" Kuno cackled, interrupting Saito. "Well done, young Kaz. Where you lack in ability, you make up for in common sense. Though, its probably for different reasons. You probably thought I'd expel him from school for such actions, did you not? Well, allow me to relieve you of your fears. Had he connected with that...attack... his place in this school would not be affected. Consider it, as a test. I was merely testing his ability, to see if he could possibly harm me in any form, but if Mr. Minakami could stop you, then I obviously have nothing to worry about. Besides..." after saying that word, four familiar flames surrounded Saito and Kaz and materialized into the Quarter Samurai. "....as you can see I'm always well protected." 

"You coward!!!" Saito shouted. 

"Saito...why are you so angry?" Kuno asked, with a smirk. "Is this not what you wanted? I remember you as a child telling me on how you couldn't wait to get to Furinkan and face challenges that your father faced and prove you are worthy of taking over the Dojo. Did you not tell me this, Saito?" asked Kuno to a now enraged Saito. "Tell you what. You came here to prove yourself, then I shall assist you on your task, seeing how miserably you failed last time...." 

After hearing this, Kaz looked to the sky and said "I bet you're getting a kick out of this, huh." 

"...I shall give you an opponent. Roku." said Kuno. He waited for a couple of seconds, that ended in nothing. 

"Roku." Kuno said again. Still nothing. 

Kuno turned towards the big blond in the surfer wet suit. The guy was, at the moment, snoozing off on the job against the wall. 

Kuno was not happy. "ROKU!!!!!!" Kuno shouted. Roku fell on his back from the shock. He immediately got up and went to the side of Kuno. 

"Yo, dude. What's up." 

"Insolent knave!" Genji shouted at Roku. "He is your principal and the master of this school. Never address him as...dude." 

"Sorry! My bad!" Said Roku, while scratching the back of his head. Roku turned to Kuno and said "What's up, Principal Dude!" Everyone, except Kuno and Roku, fell to the floor. 

"At any event," said Kuno, trying to regain his composure. "At the end of this school day, you will face Roku Miyamoto." 

"Hey!" Kaz shouted suddenly. "Why should he even bother, I mean, what's in it for him?" 

Kuno turned his gaze towards Kaz and grinned. "I see your point. Very well, if you win, I shall pay the bill for all the destruction you caused this school. And as for your punishment, Mr. Minakami..." 

"Punishment? For what?!" yelled Kaz. 

"Why, for being part of the duo that ravaged this school. After all, if a Saotome attacks you, its always in self-defense." 

Saito hung his in shame upon hearing this. 

"Your penance shall be this. From now on, you're now Saotome's keeper." 

"What does that mean?" asked Kaz. 

"Simply put, your job will be to make sure he keeps his temper in check and fights at the appriotate time only. If you do not, you shall pay the bill for the damage to the school. As for now, you cretins bore me, vanish from my sight." said Kuno, turning to look out a window. 

Saito was still ticked off at Kuno, but he realized that if he didn't want his family in debt he'd have to maintain his temper in check. He did however turned a gaze toward Roku. "You're going down...dude." He said, before exiting with Kaz. 

"Whoa!" said Roku. "Not the most stabliest dude in world, is he?" 

* * * 

Several hours later, at lunch. Lunch had come to Furinkan High for the first time this year. For many people in the school, it was an opportunity to meet up with old friends and discuss the events that happened on their first day. For others, it offered an occasion to take a break from the riggers of the school day. But, for three tables..... 

* * * 

"Hey Saito, can I have your room when you're killed." Midori joked. 

"Shut up!!!" answered Saito. Ever since Saito told Noriko and Midori heard what happened in his encounter with the Principal, they've done nothing but joke about the situation. 

"Now, now Midori. We can't be joking about his situation." Noriko said in a serious tone. "After all, how is he going to fight Roku after he just had a climatic battle with Kaz." Noriko said, finally bursting into laughter. 

Saito didn't respond, but simply picked up his tray and started to leave. 

"Wait a...hm, hm...minute!" exclaimed Midori, fighting back the urge to laugh. "We'll stop. Just...hold on a...ha, ha..minute." "Yes." Noriko said, who was fighting the urge to laugh just as much. "We're on...hm, hm...your side." 

"Well, you have a funny way of showing it!" Saito shouted. "You know I don't need this! First, I come to the school of what I believe to be home of Martial Arts Gods..." 

The urge to laugh became harder. 

"...Then, my first fight turns out to be a guy who can't punch his way out of a wet paper bag..." 

Even harder. 

"...and now, I have to fight a surfing samurai!!!" 

This last statement would be the straw that broke the camels back. 

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!!" 

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh!!!" 

Saito just groaned to himself. He sat down, and tried to reassess the situation, as the laughter continued all around him. 

* * * 

There were many things different between the Furinkan of the past and the Furinkan of today. A prime example is a certain table in the cafeteria. This table belongs to the Quarter Samurai. This table is one of the many benefits a Quarter Samurai member had. This table was erected in the middle of the cafeteria, and elevated a few feet above the rest of the over tables. The table itself was well built, sculpted to look like one of those magestic tables from many centuries ago. The table had four chairs, for each samurai. Nobody liked this table because they felt they were getting too many privileges, and that the whole superiority that the Quarter Samurai believed was starting to annoy them. But, they were the Quarter Samurai, and they were not to be messed with. This table usually was home to merriment, but today, the mood was very different. 

QS member Roku Miyamoto wasn't feeling too hungry at the moment. It wasn't till later that someone told him the last name of his opponent. Even he knew of the legend of Ranma Saotome, Saito's father. He could only imagine how tough his kid was. His confidence had dropped considerably, and it was starting to show. 

"Yo, Ro-dude." the female member of the group asked. "You look down, what's up? Wait a minute. Its not that clown you have to face, is it?" 

"Well, K.T." said Roku. "Its sort of is." 

"Duuuuuuuude. You have like, nothing to worry about. You're a Quarter Samurai, therefore making you like one of the strongest people in the school. You've like got this in the bag. Ain't that right, Kyo?" 

The QS member dressed like a rock musician looked up from his lunch. "Huh? Oh, yeah! Yo, you can take that chump." 

"You think. But that dude doesn't look typical. Even though his attitude is most heinous, he looks like a total identical to his dad." 

"But he is not...." Genji stated suddenly. This interjection got everyone's attention. "...his father. He has also never been in a fight in his life. Meaning, young Roku, he is quite beatable. In fact, I believe he and his pathetic little family have quite a hefty bill in their future. Hm, hm, hm, hm." Genji stopped to drink some tea. When he finished, he continued. "Besides, he is just like these knaves, not refined like..." 

BBBBLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCCCHHHHHHH!!!!! 

The Quarter Samurai turned, as well as the rest of the school, turned to Kyo who just let out a huge bleech. 

"...us." Genji finished. 

* * * 

Kaz sat by himself in another table. He had grown use to sitting by himself, and didn't really think about it as much. Besides, he actually rather be alone more then any other time right now. He could not believe he has to watch that idiot's actions and that his future in this school depended on it. 

"I don't believe this." Kaz said to himself. "Graduated with honors in my elementary school, never get into trouble, and a constant nice guy, for what? Just to be some guy's watchdog, a guy who just tried to kill me no less. What did I do to deserve this!?!" At this point Kaz stopped talking, and looked to the ceiling. "You planned this, didn't you!" he yelled, pointing to the ceiling in a mock conversation with God. "Couldn't live with making my life filled with bullies and idiots, you had to throw this at me. You didn't find it funny enough when that jerk dumped ice cream on my head for my entire fourth grade life, you have to do this to me. Well, let me tell you something! I won't....." 

* * * "Hey, isn't that the guy you tried to kill early this morning screaming at the ceiling?" asked Noriko to Saito. 

Noriko didn't get an answer. Saito was, to put it simply, nervous. Reviewing everything to this point, this was his first real fight. Not one of those simple training sessions with pop. This one was out to hurt Saito, and to make sure that his family be sent to financial ruin. This one was for real. He knew he always wanted a fight in Furinkan, but preferably, under different conditions. 

"Snap out of it, you twit!" yelled Midori, as she slapped him in the back of head. While this move got Saito's attention, it also raised his anger. 

"The heck you do that for!?" yelled Saito. 

"Hey, calm down!" exclaimed Midori. "Jeez, what's the matter with you?" 

"It would appear that our boy, Saito." explained Noriko. "Is experiencing a little prefight jitters." "What?! Oh, come on!" said Midori. "No way Saito's nervous about facing that overgrown beach bum. Right, Saito?" 

Saito's only reply was to turn and look at the floor. Midori thought better of it, but she could have sworn that she saw a hint of embarrassment. 

"Saito..." said Midori. 

"All right!!" shouted Noriko, as she rummaged through her backpack. "If there is one thing I can't stand, its a family member in pain." Noriko continued to look through her bag, and pulled out a rectangular black electronic device, about the size of a composition book. Upon further inspection by Midori and Saito, it revealed to have a TV screen that took up half of the device, and all the keys found on a regular keyboard. 

"What on earth is this?" asked Midori. 

"This, my dear," Noriko said with a smirk. "is what's gonna pay for my college education and more. Behold, my friends, the latest invention of Kuno, Inc., Technical Division. The Jabberwocky." 

The two siblings just stood and stared for a few moments. "Isn't that the dragon from 'Alice in Wonderland.'?" 

"Hey, I didn't name the thing. Besides, this baby is going to help you in your situation." 

"Really." Saito questioned pompously. "How exactly is it going to do that?" 

Noriko glared at her cousin for a few seconds. "Do I sense a tinge of disbelief on your part?" asked Noriko, who was a bit ticked off at the comment. "C'mon, dear cousin, when have I ever steered you wrong?" 

"November 22, 2003." Saito replied simply. 

"Oh, that again." Noriko said, a tad annoyed. "I said I was sorry, and besides, you can barely see the scar anymore. Anyhow, this is the real deal. Let me tell you about it..." 

"Here it comes." Midori whispered to Saito. 

"...The Jabberwocky is basically an electronic encyclopedia telling one everything one needs about any subject, within reason." 

"Almost there." Midori whispered again. 

"Anyway," Noriko continued. "I've programmed it to this school. Meaning, it will tell us anything about Furinkan High from history to the individuals who attend this school." 

"Wait for it." whispered Midori again. 

"So, thanks to this, we have all the info on everyone here including the Quarter Samurai. And I'll let you use it..." 

"And...now." Midori whispered. 

"....for 2000 yen." Noriko finished, as Saito collapsed to the floor in disbelief and Midori calmly shook her head. 

"Are you kidding me!!!" Saito yelled. "I thought we were family." 

"The word family doesn't exist in business, cousin." Noriko said with a smirk. "Its your decision. Face someone you know nothing about, or at least know what you're up against." 

Saito thought about this for a second. In his mind, he wondered if there wasn't just a hint of dishonor in this. Finding out information about an enemy, while the enemy didn't know anything about him. But, the information could be useful. This was a tough call to make. So Saito did what he always did when faced with moments of indecision. 

"What would dad do?" Saito thought in the back of his mind. 

"Well?" an impatient Noriko asked. 

After a second, Saito looked at Noriko. He rolled up his eyes, sighed, and reached into his pocket. 

"You won't regret this." said a jovial Noriko. 

"Whatever." Saito muttered, as he pulled the money out of his wallet. 

"Okay, let's see..." Noriko said as she typed on some keys. Midori and Saito watched the screen as Noriko typed. First, she typed the words: Quarter Samurai, and pressed enter. The screen changed, to a screen letterheaded with Quarter Samurai and a rectangular box in the center. 

"Okay," said Noriko. "What do you wish do know?" 

"Hmmmmm...." said Saito. "How about who the members are." 

"Good idea." said Noriko, as she typed in the keys. When she finished, the Jabberwocky started talking on its own. 

"The Quarter Samurai currently has four members in its faction. All but one are members of distinguished Samurai families and possess some of the family's skills.Those families are the Tokugawa, Miyamto, and Fukushima families." it said. On the screen, it showed a black fire. The fire died down and revealed the guy who looked like a rock n' roll star. He then strummed a guitar that was on his back in a wild pose. The picture then did a close up on his face, and froze. Kyo Fukushima Age 15 Samurai Weapon: "Ax." 

The screen changed to a picture of a purple fire. When it died, it revealed a the female of the group. She was dressed in the attire he saw her in before, carrying the same set of Billy clubs, and one foot on a skateboard. She rode the board in front of a dummy. She then speed toward the dummy and started going in a circle. She was going so fast, that she was a total blur. When she stopped, the dummy fell to the ground in pieces. While Noriko didn't see it, Saito and Midori could see that she was hitting the dummy so fast, she didn't appear to be hitting it all. To Saito's count, she must have hit the dummy at last 500 times and circled the dummy 20 times the two seconds she was circling the dummy. The shot froze and did a close-up to her face. Kanjiro Tokugawa Age: 15 Samurai Weapon: Twin Tonfas or Billy Clubs 

The next image was that of a blue flame. When it died down, it revealed a familiar samurai surfer. 

"That's him." Saito said calmly. 

The image of Roku started as Roku started twirling his blade around with ease. Normally this would mean next to nothing, but the blade was bigger then he was. In fact, it wasn't really a blade, but a surfboard with a sword hilt at the end. Of course their was several other minor adjustments to the sword, but in appearance, that what it was. When he finished his kata, the Jabberwocky did a close-up on his face. Roku Miyamoto Age 15 Samurai Weapon: Surf Sword 

The final image was a red flame. Upon dispersing, it revealed Genji. 

"I really don't like that guy." said Saito. Saito then saw Noriko had a pair of narrowed eyes pointed his way. "Oh, sorry Noriko." 

"Relax." said Noriko, putting on a small smile. "It comes with the territory." 

The movie of Genji continued. Genji's body began to glow red again. Genji then began to concentrate, and the ki energy around flowed from him, into his bokken. The image widened, and showed a stuffed dummy not to far off away. Genji then raised his bokken, with the blade pointed upward, and pointed it at the dummy. A stream of green ki energy fired from the bokken to the dummy. When the blast finished, the dummy was no more. Genji Kuno Age: 14 Samurai Weapon: Bokken 

"He knows ki blasts, huh! That's wonderful, just wonderful!" said Saito, with a hint of excitement in his voice. This excitement was due to the fact that this Genji was a powerful foe, meaning Saito would have no reason not to use all his strength on him. Saito still remember the words that Genji said to him this very morning. 

"I believe in destiny, Saotome. There will be a time." 

"Okay, cousin." said Noriko, as she started to put away the Jabberwocky. "That will do it, but I hope I helped." 

"Yes. Thank you, Noriko." said Saito. 

"Hey, you okay?" asked Midori, who noticed Saito looked rather despondent. 

"I'm fine." Saito said. "Just fine...." 

* * * 

Little did Saito know, his action were not going unnoticed. Only a couple of tables away from his, was the table of the Quarter Samurai. While the other three members were eating, Genji had taken notice of all the events that had just taken place at Saito's table. 

"Well, well. A Jabberwocky." Genji thought. "He's checking on us, if I miss my guess. The little brigand fears us. Well, I'll be sleeping soundly this night." 

He continued watching Saito. He got a little ticked at the money exchange, but only because he thought his information was worth more. Other then that, the only thing that caught his eye was the glint of despair he saw in his eye. 

"My, my." Genji said to himself. "It would appear the little Saotome boy has a little feeling of hopelessness in him......how delightful!" 

* * * 

"I don't like the look in that samurai's eyes." said Kaz as he stared at Genji's sinister looking eyes. Kaz had seen that look before, and it was on a lion as it stared at an injured zebra. 

Kaz stopped yelling at god a little while ago. He realized that it was pointless and might as well make the best of things. You see, Kaz was one of those guys who always tried to take the cards that were dealt with him. "Yeah, but what a hand!" Kaz thought to himself. 

"Okay, things can't be this bad." Kaz thought. "Let's see...basically, I have to make sure that a guy who likes fights, doesn't fight." Kaz thought this last statement over. "On second thought, maybe there will be some problems with this job. Well, no matter. I'll just break this down a little more. He's the son of the legend of this school, so he can't be a complete idiot. Due to the fight, I guess he can fight after school. So, I'll I got to do is make sure he break anything till after school from now on. Man, this won't be so harrrrrrrrrrrr..." Kaz slurred his sentence because of the sight he beheld. Genji was walking over to Saito's table. 

* * * 

"Hey, you okay?" asked Midori, who noticed Saito looked rather despondent. 

"I'm fine." Saito said. "Just fine...." "Well, for the time being you are at least." a familiar voice said. The others looked behind them and saw a smirking Genji Kuno behind them. Saito started clenching both fists and went into a battle stance. He would have lunged at him, had not Noriko and Midori been there. 

"Hm. A very convincing display on your part, Saotome, but there is no longer any point in continuing this charade." 

"What do you mean by that!?" shouted Saito, maintaining his stance. At this point, they had the attention of the entire cafeteria. For the 7th graders, it wasn't anything to big. However, for the others, this was big. They weren't to sure, but it appeared to be the beginning of a fight. They haven't seen a fight in a long time, let alone with the leader of the Quarter Samurai, and the son of Ranma Saotome! This appeared to be shaping up to be a first day to remember. 

"Oh, come now! I've been watching you from afar this whole time. From what I've seen, you've already lost. By using that contraption...." Genji said, pointing at the Jabberwocky in Noriko's bag. "...you've shown the fear you have for us, and I saw the despair in your eyes when I came over here." 

Upon hearing this, Saito's stance lowered. 

"I see I'm making my point." Said Genji. "You know what's sad about this. When you lose, its not yourself who loses, but your entire family. And, with that loss, ends any pathetic attempts to become like your father." 

"Very clever." Noriko thought to herself. To herself it was obvious what he was doing. To the Kunos, it was learned at an early age the importance of mind games. Both of their parents used it. Tatewaki in his battles and Nabiki in business. When a mind game was properly used, the opponent usely is in no shape to amount any offense. 

"Its more then apparent that you are outclassed in this situation." Genji continued. "So how about you do something intelligent for once and surrender?" 

Saito was still hunched in a sunken fighting stance, and showing no signs of movement. 

"Saito, come on!" shouted Midori. "Even you can't be dumb enough to listen to this jerk!" 

"Oh be silent, woman." Genji said. "Like I said, the boy can tell he is..." 

"Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm" Saito interrupted. This laughter caught everyone off guard. It was just a minute ago that Saito was almost kneeling, with desperation on his face. Now he was laughing right at Genji, who wasn't liking the situation at all. "You know, I'll admit you had me for a while. Spouting all that junk like that. But you lost me after on thing." 

"And what would that be, knave." said Genji angrily, not too happy about the idea of anyone laughing at him. 

"That part about fearing you guys." said Saito, who walked right up to Genji's face. "Because trust me, when I say, that there is no way I'd ever fear a jerk like you!" 

A long silence followed. Neither man backing down from one another, nor looking away from each other. In Saito's face, shone a face full with both determination and hate. He was determined to wipe that smirk from Genji's face and prove his worth. The hate came from the hate Saito had for Genji . No one had ever infuriated Saito like this guy. All he wanted to do is punch this guy just once. 

Genji just stared back down at Saito's face, smirking. Back down at the determination and the hate. The determination to wipe the smirk off his face. The hate Saito had for him. He just stared and smirked. Then, Genji started to clap. 

"Very impressive." Genji said as he stopped clapping. "So it appears that the fight is on, then. No worries. You are a Saotome, after all." 

Both Midori and Saito got very angry at hearing this. "The heck is that supposed to mean?!" they said in unison. 

"Quite simply." Genji said. "You...people... think with your fist, not your mind. Meaning, defeating you is quite simple when you know what you're doing." 

"Your calling us morons?!" yelled Midori. Midori's pulse was racing. It felt to her that another berserker mode was on its way. 

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Genji replied. 

Saito was now fuming. It was one thing to insult him, but his family was another story entirely. Genji could see this. 

"Like a puppet on a string." Genji thought to himself. 

"That's the final straw!" screamed Saito, as he pushed aside Midori and Noriko. "The hell with rules and regulations. I'm going to prove myself right now!" With that, Saito grabbed Genji's collar, clenched his fist, and pulled back. Saito readied himself for a punch to end all punches ,and he might have too....had not a familiar anchor had not grabbed his arm. 

"Kaz..." Saito said, nearly laughing to himself. "You were expecting the Hulk, maybe?!" Kaz asked, with just a hint of sarcasm. "What do you think you're doing? You're going to expel the both of us!" 

"I don't care!" shouted Saito. 

"Punch him!" someone from the crowd yelled. 

"Kick him in the manhood!" said yet another. 

"SHUT UP!!!" screamed Kaz at the crowd. "And as for you, what kind of idiot are you?" he shouted right in Saito's face. 

"What the heck are you taking about?!?!" shouted Saito, who was beginning to detest Kaz. 

"Oh, come on! Use your head!" shouted Kaz. "He was right there when Kuno made that No-Fighting in School Rule. Meaning he knows if you get into a fight, you're gone!" 

Saito, after hearing this, released Genji's collar and took a few steps back. His face was froze in a look that conveyed two feelings. One was shock. Simple and pure shock that he'd allowed himself to have nearly get suckered in so easily. The other was frustration. Frustration that ever since he step foot in this school, he'd been lead around like a dog on a collar. 

"Oh, come now!" said Genji. "Don't tell you that's all its gonna take for you to cease that cute little act of heroics." 

Saito shot a glare straight Genji after hearing that. 

"Ah, that's the spirit." said Genji. "Come then, prove your name, and teach me the lesson only true warriors are meant to know!" 

"Don't listen to him!" shouted Midori. 

"Punch him!" someone from the crowd yelled. 

"Kick him in the manhood!" said yet another. "Will you shut up!" yelled Midori. 

"Come now, Saito!" Genji stated. "You know you want to." "My God." said Kaz. "Saito for once in your life can you not be an idiot." 

"Punch him!" someone from the crowd yelled. 

"Kick him in the manhood!" said yet another. 

"SHUT UP!!" yelled Kaz and Midori on unison. 

Saito couldn't take this for to much longer. He was being jumped from all sides. The forces that wanted him to fight were clashing with the forces that wanted him not to fight. The battle was giving him a headache. He was never torn other a decision like this in his life. 

"What do I do?!?!?!" Saito thought desperately. The headache was getting worse, as did the argument around continued. He soon clasped, grabbed his head with bot hands, and fell to one knee. No one else saw this and continued arguing with each other. Finally, Saito could not take it anymore. 

"SHUT UP!!!!!!!" screamed Saito, who was still on one knee. It was at this time everyone else noticed him. "You guys needn't worry about any fights. Because, as of now, I dropping out of this school!" With that said, Saito somersaulted over the crowd, and sprinted out of the cafeteria. 

"Saito..." said a worried Midori. 

"Well." Genji said simply. "That is that." 

"Bro." said Noriko. "That wasn't cool. How could you do that?!" "It was quite simple, really." Genji replied. 

"You monster!" shouted Midori. 

"The way I see things, I am the one who just killed the monster." Genji answered. 

"What do yo-" 

"I have no time for this!" shouted Genji, who was getting a tad irritated. "I must finish my meal. If the cretin does show up again, tell him we'll still be waiting for him after school. Good day." After that final word, Genji turned and headed toward the Quarter Samurai Table. 

Noriko was a bit surprised about what Genji said. "What does he mean by Saito being the monster?" 

"Who cares!" Midori exclaimed. "We have to find him before he does something stupid!" With that, Midori grabbed Noriko's hand and bolted out the door. 

This left Kaz by himself. "Hmmmmm," he said to himself. "Weird family." 

* * * 

"Yo, Boss dude!" exclaimed Roku as Genji returned to the table. "What were you up to in the bogus table over there?" 

"Oh, nothing good. Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm, hm." cackled Genji. "No, nothing at all good, you?" 

"Oh, glad you asked! We were sort of debating over something." said Roku. 

"Oh? And what would that be?" 

"Okay. Who is your favorite Spice Girl?" 

"......." 

"Boss Dude?" 

"I have to get a drink of water." With that, Genji left in disgust. 

* * * 

Saito huddled next to a tree. After he ran out the school, he stop at a small tree a bit far off from the school, and decided to rest. It wasn't so much that he was tired, but that effects of the ordeal he went through were starting to get to him. So far, his first day had turned from the best day to the worst day of his life. 

First he attacks someone with no ability to fight back. Then he destroys most of the school in the "fight," with Kaz. His punishment would have his family face bankruptcy, and in addition, forfeit any right to become the heir of the Anything Goes Dojo. Life at this moment, to put it bluntly, sucked. 

"Why must I be such an idiot." Saito said to himself. 

"Oh, come now." a voice said. Saito looked up and saw his sister standing over him, with Noriko a bit in the distance. "You're being too hard on yourself." Midori said. 

"Being too hard on myself?" Saito said in a estranged tone. "Are you kidding? This has to be the worst first days of first days. I nearly killed someone, I find out that the man I despise the most is in charge of the school, and to top it off....." Saito paused. A pause that signified how painful this next part would be. "....I probably will never be the dojo master." 

"Saito..." said Midori, as she looked at her fallen brother. In all the time she's known him, she's never seen him like this. If there was one thing Saito seemed to capture most from father, it was his confidence. The ability to looked a challenge in the face and take it head on, no matter how big. For the first time, she saw....defeat...in his eyes. "Aw, come on bro." she continued while smiling. "I'm sure dad's done something like this in his day." 

Saito looked at her and raised an eyebrow. 

"Okay, maybe nothing like this." Midori said. "But isn't that what you wanted?" 

"What?" 

"Hear me out. The big thing about coming to Furinkan, for you anyway, was to prove worthy of the title of dojo master, and that you weren't getting it because of dad, right?" 

"Well...of course, yeah." 

"Well, here's your chance! You've already had a worse day than dad's ever was, and now, you'll enter a battle with an opponent worthy of fighting you. Isn't that what you asked for?" 

Saito thought this over a bit. He thought about the reoccurring dreams, his own dreams, and what he wanted. In conculsion, he found his sister was right. This was the perfect opportunity to do what he always dreamed of, proving his worth. His worth to run the dojo, as well as to get an identity and not be know as Ranma Saotome's son. 

"Saito?" said Midori as she looked at her brother. He was now beginning to shake and she thought she heard....laughter? "Awww, Saito." she said. "Are you..." 

Before she could finish, Saito leapt at her sister and pinned her to the ground. He did this while continuing his laughter. "Sis, you're right. I have a golden opportunity in front of me. I'll take out that surfer punk and then finally prove worthy myself of running the dojo. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Saito then leapt up to the top of the tree, stood up, and yelled "I'll kill two birds with one stone! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" He stopped his insane laughter and saw his sister still lying on the ground. To which, he jumped back down and helped her up. 

"Aw, sis..." Saito said nervously. 

"Yes?" she replied. 

"Um, you know...if it weren't for you...you know, back there...I probably would have...you know, I wouldn't have...and they would have....." 

"Will you just say it!" Midori yelled. 

"Thank you, sis." Saito finally spilled. 

Midori smiled. "No problem, bro. Besides, what kind of sister would I be if I didn't?" 

Saito turned around and faced the school. "By my count, the last period is next, so I have an hour to prepare." Saito said. He then face his sister. "Wish me luck." 

"Good luck." 

With that, Saito ran back towards Furinkan. 

* * * 

"That was a nice thing you did, Midori." Noriko said as she watched her cousin watch Saito head back to the school. 

"Yeah, well..." Midori started. "What can I say. He's family, even though he's a twit. So, what should we....." Midori paused midsentence as she saw a familiar gaze and stance in Noriko. The stance went like this. Her head tilted downward and her eyes shut, with her entire face deep in thought. One hand on her chin, while the other hand cradled her arm at the elbow. This was known as her profit stance. This was because once she was in this position, a profit was not far off in her future. So Midori watched as she tilted her head back up, so she was looking back at Midori again. Then she opened her eyes and raised her eyebrow just like her mother. Then came the saying..... 

"I know a way I can make money!" 

* * * 

Saito sat in his study hall and thought about what was to come. This would be his first real battle, not a sparring bout like he did with dad. The other would hold nothing back. Would this end like his dreams? Were he always lost, and doomed to humiliation. Was his dreams fate, or were they just fear? Saito dismissed the fear option, because quite simply, the day he is afraid of a beach bum like Roku, is the day he washes himself with steel wool. 

"Hey, Saito....can we talk for a sec?" asked a familiar voice. 

Saito looked up and saw the guy who had kept him from decking two Kunos today. "Hi, Kaz. Sure, what is it?" 

Kaz sat in a seat adjacent from Saito and said, "Well, its like this. We're going to be forced associates from here on out, it would appear. I believe its best that we be friends on this matter. I mean, its obvious that you're very strong...." 

Saito smiled a bit when he heard this. 

"...and your powers must be strong in order to destroy the hallways like that...." 

Saito grinned from ear to ear and laid back a bit more after hearing this. 

"...However, you do have one drawback, and that drawback is you're a moron." 

Saito fell out of his chair. * * * 

"Are you sure we can do this?" asked Midori. 

"I already told you my dad okayed the whole thing, and besides, I did say you'd get a cut didn't I?" replied Noriko. 

"But won't this tick Saito off a bit?" 

"Don't worry! After this, he'll be thanking us." 

* * * 

"What do you mean moron?!" yelled Saito. 

"I mean you're a moron, moron." answered Kaz. 

"What makes me a moron?" 

"Well, let's see. You attacked me for god knows what, you nearly deck the principal's son..." 

"Look!" Saito interrupted. "You don't know about the past I have with the principal, and as for Genji, if you had been the one he had been insulting, you would have tried the same thing! As far, as attacking you goes..." 

"Yeah, I'm a bit curious about that myself! Why did you attack me?!" interrupted Kaz. 

"....Well, I.." Saito staggered. He was unsure about this next part. Telling him he attacked him because thought he was a strong warrior probably would add to the moron idea everyone seemed to have about him. But, in the end, he figured he owed it to him. "..I attacked because I thought you were a strong martial artist." Saito then silenced himself and braced himself for a verbal barrage of some sort. All he got was silence. When he looked back at Kaz, he found the he was smiling to himself. 

"Really?" asked Kaz, who was really grinning at this point. "You thought I was a strong martial artist like you. Wow, thanks has to be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me....which when you think about it, is really sad." He said laughing as he said it. Guessing it was safe to do so as well, Saito joined in as well. 

"We didn't start off so well, did we?" Saito said. "Lets started over. Saito Saotome." He said as he offered his hand to Kaz. 

Kaz looked at the hand for a second. He had barely known this guy, and already his scholastic life was already changed forever. Could it get worse? He thought his next actions over in his head for moment, as though they meant his future. 

"Kaz Minakami." Kaz said, as he took the hand and shook it. 

* * * 

"Okay, just hold the cue cards for me so I can read them." Noriko said. 

"Once again, are you sure about this?" asked Midori. 

"Will you stop asking me that! I told you, he'll love us for this! Now hurry up and hold up the cards!" 

* * * 

Just after the pair had shaken hands, did they hear the familiar sound of the PA coming on. As the announcements went on, Kaz and Saito talked some more. 

"Well, the big fight is up next. Nervous?" Kaz asked. 

"Yes, but I'll do fine." Saito replied. 

"All right." 

"...Okay, is thing on?" said a voice from the PA. 

"Noriko?" Saito said, recognizing the voice. 

"Ahem. 

Monday! Monday! Monday! Come see the fight of the century! As Saito "The Rock," Saotome takes on "Iron," Roku Miyamoto! With over 5,000,000 yen on the line! After school, on the soccerfield! This was intended to be private audience only, But for 500 yen, you can check out all the action live! Remember! Monday! Monday! Monday! As in... Today! Today! Today! 

...Thank you." 

Saito and Kaz stared in amazement at the PA, not believing what they just heard. 

"I'm going to...." 

* * * 

"...KILL YOU!!!!!" Saito screamed at Midori and Noriko. The end of school had come, and Saito, Kaz, Midori, and Noriko had made their way to the soccerfield for the big fight. Them....as well as the entire school! 

"What possessed you do this?" Saito said. "Money." Noriko said simply. 

"I'm sorry, Saito." Midori said, with a tad of guilt in her voice. "We thought you'd like this." 

"Like it?! Why would I like this?!" Saito yelled pointing to the crowd. Especially to one guy in particular who had a Saotome 3:16 sign. 

"Well, we thought you'd like a big audience for your first fight." answered Midori a bit nervously. 

"Plus, it was a great way to get up to our armpits in yen." Noriko said joyfully. 

"Well, Saito, you got to admit it. This quite a turn out." Said Kaz, who was eyeing the entire crowd. 

"Isn't it." Noriko stated. "We made a killing with ticket sells. I could put myself through college...twice!" 

"That's impressive!" Kaz said, eyeing the ticket money. "Gee, with all that money you'll need help counting it." he finished reaching for the bag. Noriko replied by slapping his hand away. 

"Will you people focus!" Saito shouted. "You know what will happen if word of this reaches beyond the school?" 

"We'll make more money?" Noriko said, smirking a bit. 

"No!" Saito retorted. "If this gets out of this school, the worst scenario could happen." 

"What would that be?" asked Midori 

"Well..." 

"...Mom and dad find out, rush over her, and ground you till your 50." said a voice. 

Saito turned around slowly and saw the faces of two people he didn't want to see. "Hi....mom. Hi...dad." He said nervously. Ranma and Akane had both aged well, with mith minor features of people there age. Both of them had had kept in great shape and still had more then a couple of good fights in them. The couple had apparently rushed over here as soon as they heard the news. Ranma was still wearing his workout clothes, and Akane's clothes were dirty from some gardening she did when she heard th news. 

"Hi." said Ranma. "May we speak with you two for a sec." 

"Ummm, do we have a choice?" asked Midori. 

"No!!" answered Akane, rather viciously. With that, Saito and Midori walked off to with Ranma and Akane. 

"So..." Kaz said to Noriko, as they watched everyone walk away. "What are you gonna do with all that money?" 

"Oh, I don't know." she replied. "Throw it on the pile, I guess." 

* * * 

"Dad, I can explain!" shouted a desperate Saito. 

"Let me guess." said Ranma. "You came to school, shot ki blasts at an innocent student. Ki blasts you were instructed never to use against people unless in dangerous situation. Destroyed a good portion of the quarter of the school, and now you have to win a battle to not have to pay a huge bill." 

Saito stood a bit dumbfounded. "Okay, maybe I don't have to explain that much. How did you find out?" 

"Someone gave us an anonymous tip." said Akane. "Some guy who sounded a little like Kuno when he was your age." 

"Genji." Saito whispered to himself. "How could you do this?" asked Ranma, disappointment in his voice. 

"Its kind of a long story..." Saito responded. 

"We don't want to hear it!" screamed Akane. Akane was obviously not too thrilled about the situation. 

"But mom, dad!" Midori started to plead. "Isn't the important thing is that he's trying too fix the situation by doing the fight?" 

"No." said Ranma. "The important thing is he tried to kill another student by pumping him full of ki." 

"Where are we going?" asked Saito, giving up on the whole argument. 

"Principal's office." said Akane. "Kuno's a reasonable man. We should be able to find an other way of solving this problem. 

* * * 

"What do you mean there's no other way!?" Akane yelled. 

The foursome had made their way through the school to the principal's office. It was exactly how it was before, symphonic music and all. Sparks flew when Kuno and Ranma saw each other, but due to the subject at hand, they remained civil. The argument at the moment wasn't going in the Saotome's favor. 

"I quite sorry." said Kuno. "But the boy destroyed school property. By all means, he should be expelled. But due to the kindness of myself, I've given him a shot to come out of this situation with a cent to his name." 

"By facing a specially trained martial artist, you can't be serious!" yelled Akane. 

"So sorry." said Kuno, smirking a tad. "Life can be quite unfair sometimes." 

"Kuno you jerk!" Ranma cried out. "You and I both know why your doing this!" 

"Really?" answered a rather calm Kuno. "And what would that be?" 

"Bitterness." said Ranma. "This is just some insane measure of revenge, isn't it?" 

"So what if it is?" Kuno said. "Besides, I'm I truly at fault here? After all, who obliterated school property?" 

Saito sank his head in shame. He had shamed his family with his actions, and know they were about to pay for it..literally. He realized then he had no real choice. 

"I'll fight." Saito said. 

"What?!" Akane and Ranma said in unison. 

"I'm going to fight him." 

"You can't do that. What Kuno doing is wrong!" yelled Akane. 

"Its either this or a 5,000,000 bill." 

"Saito." Ranma said. "You can't do this. You're not ready for this yet." 

Saito turned to his father with his eyes full of determination. "Dad, I'll handle this. I'll see you later." With that, Saito ran out the door. 

After that, Midori started for the door as well. "Midori!" yelled Akane. 

"Some has to check on him." Midori replied. "It'll be okay." With that said, Midori was gone. Ranma and Akane went to Kuno, but he was gone as well. 

Both of them were angry about everyone bailing on them like that. Akane then stared angrily at Ranma. "You know, they get this from you." Akane said to Ranma. 

"Oh, shut up." Ranma replied. 

* * * 

"Where is the fool?" Genji questioned. It had been a full half hour since Ranma and Akane had taken Saito and Midori from the soccerfield. Genji, as well as the crowds, were growing restless from waiting. 

"Patience. Patience everyone!" shouted a nervous Noriko. "Saito will be here soon." Very little got Noriko nervous or upset. But the one thing that always upset her, was the notion of possible returning money. "Now, come people. You know how martial artists are. He's probably off in the back doing some...some...uhh, some..." 

"Katas." Kaz interjected. He had watched Noriko from afar in her attempts to calm everyone down. The site was very entertaining to him. However, he wasn't cruel to allow her to hang herself. 

"Katas!!" exclaimed Noriko. "Thank you! He's doing katas preparing for the fight, and making this fight a more memorable one for you beautiful people. So, if would please remain seated, the challenger will be here shortly." For the moment, This calmed everyone there. 

* * * 

"He's going to come." Roku said. 

"What did you say?" Genji said. 

"Saito will come." Roku said again. 

"Oh, come on." Kanjiro said. "Its been like nearly an hour. Face it, the Saotome kid like totally bailed." 

"I would have to agree with KT on this one." Kyo stated. 

"No, I saw the look in the eyes of that Saotome dude. The determination in that dude's eyes was gnarly. He'll come." Roku calmly said. 

Genji was shocked to hear what Roku said. Most of the time, the other Quarter Samurai members never showed any sibilance of IQ. But sometimes they surprised him. "Perhaps they aren't knaves after. Maybe my judgment of them was too quick. Perhaps they deserve a second chance." Genji thought to himself. He then turned to the other members. 

"Hey, boss." Roku said. "While we're waiting, want to play game of Hungry Hungry Hippo?" While he said this, the other members were already playing the game. 

Genji responded by turning back around. "Perhaps not." He thought to himself. 

* * * 

"We Want Saotome! We want Saotome! We Saotome!" the crowds yelled, as Noriko sat in a slump at the ticket booth. She was really nervous now. Saito was still nowhere to be found and the crowds were growing more and more restless. 

"Where is that moron anyway?" Noriko said out loud. 

"Gee, love you, too." said a sarcastic Saito. Saito had run the entire way from the office back to the field. He just arrived to hear Noriko's last remarks. 

"Ahh, its nothing personal, Saito. Its just.." Noriko turned around and saw Saito standing in front of her. 

"Where the heck have you been?!" she screamed while shaking him at his shoulders. "Do you know what I've gone through waiting for you?" 

"Hey!" Saito shouted, as he tried escaping her grasp. "Let me go." 

"Do you know how restless the crowd's been?" Noriko said, releasing Saito. "I've had to send Kaz out there to entertain the crowd." 

* * * 

(Insert Seinfield Music here) 

"So what's with martial artists, and making entrances?" Kaz asked the crowd. "Do they have to make an explosion ever time they enter a room? What ever happen to knocking on a door and coming in?" 

The crowded answered with boos and hisses. 

* * * 

"You need to get out there NOW!" Noriko shouted. 

"Okay, okay!" replied Saito. "I'm on my way!" 

* * * 

"And what's with this cereal, Grapenuts?" Asked Kaz. "No Grapes, no nuts. What is the deal?" Just then, a big hook came out and snagged Kaz. "Hey!" He yelled as the hook dragged him off. This got a huge cheer from the audience. 

Also, to the joy of the crowd, Saito walked onto the field. Saito looked back at the crowd as the cheered him on. He had to admit, he enjoyed the feeling of being cheered by a large number of people. Saito's thought's, however, was interrupted by a sudden clash of lightening. More accurately, blue thunder. 

The thunder culminated on a spot in front of Saito. The thunder then emitted a flash. When Saito could see, it was Principal Kuno who was before him. "How lovely. It would appear that the Saotome boy his grown a backbone. Superb." said Kuno rather coldly. "Young Saotome, you know what's at stake. Don't falter one step, or your dreams shall shatter here." Both Saito and Kuno stared at each other, with nothing but hate in there eyes. Saito hated Kuno for the past and what he was trying to do. Kuno hated Saito because of his name. "But the time for talk has ended." Kuno continued. "Send in the clowns." Another flash of light and Kuno was gone. In his place though was a large blue flame. 

The flame lowered in intensity, and revealed Roku. The blond warrior was no longer wearing a wet suit, but blue short jeans and a T-shirt. The shirt said shark attack survivor logo on it and fake blood stains and bite marks on the side. "Hey, Saotome, dude! How's it hanging?" Roku yelled. 

"Nevermind the small talk!" Saito replied. 

"Oh ho! Big man! I warn you, dude. My skills are most excellent, technically speaking. Meaning you are no contest. So just give up, dude!" 

"You obviously don't know me that well! Come on let's go!" 

"Whatever." Roku said, as he unsheathed his Surf Sword from his back. "Prepare for a most bogus journey." 

* * * 

Meanwhile, Kaz and Noriko had taken their seats in the audience. 

"So, what are his chances?" Kaz asked Noriko. 

"Well, I've known him for most of my life, and I must say, he is quite good. I don't know how he'll do against a Quarter Samurai member though..." Noriko was interrupted by sounds of panting and heavy breathing. Noriko and Kaz turned to see Midori standing next to them. 

"Did...it...start yet?" 

"Just started." Kaz said. 

"Is he winning." Midori asked. 

"Look for yourself." Noriko said, pointing to the soccerfield. 

* * * 

Roku ran toward Saito, with his blade at the ready. When he got close enough, he slashed at Saito with his blade. To Roku's surprise though, when he looked at the spot where Saito was, Saito was no where to be found. 

"Whoa. That was easy!" Roku said in triumph. Roku turned too the other Quarter Samurai to rejoice with them, they were all screaming something. Roku, unfortunately, couldn't understand what they were saying. Finally, Genji simply pointed at his sword. When he looked up at the tip, he saw Saito standing on the tip of the board. Seeing Roku open, Saito flipped into the air and nailed Roku with a jump kick across the chest that sent him flying. 

"Okay." Roku said as he got up. "You got some radical moves on you but can you do this!" As he said this, he did a very high flip in the air. The higher he got, the faster the 360s he did got. When he got to the top of his jump, he stuck his sword out. With his sword out and him spinning, Roku looked like a buzzsaw. When he landed, the spinning gave him momentum to move across the ground like a buzzsaw, and he was moving right at Saito. 

Saito narrowly avoided Roku as he blazed by. "You think its that easy?" said Roku as he turned around and took another run at Saito. 

"This is getting me nowhere!" Saito thought to himself, as he avoided Roku again. "I have to think of something....I got it!" Roku turned, going for Saito yet again. But Saito instead of jumping to the side, jump straight up and on top of Roku, running along with him by stepping on his sword as it came by. 

* * * 

"Now there's something you don't see everyday." Kaz said as he watched Saito running on top of Roku. 

"Stick around for a while." said Ranma as he and Akane sat behind Kaz and the others. 

"So, how's he doing?" asked Akane. 

"See for yourself." Midori said, pointing to the field. 

"So..." Kaz started. "You teach this to people." "Well..." said Ranma. "Not exactly." 

* * * 

"You....going to do....something, dude." said Roku. "I'm starting...to get....dizzy" 

"Maybe you're right." said Saito. Saito looked around and spotted where the other Quarter Samurai were. More importantly, though, where Genji was. "That looks about right." With that, Saito moved the spinning Roku towards the other Samurai. 

* * * 

"Well, this sucks." Kyo said as he watched Saito ride Roku towards them. 

"Like, any ideas, boss?" Kanjiro asked Genji. 

"Hmmmmmm." Genji said as he thought to himself. "Use the Alpha Omega maneuver my father taught you." 

"Oh yeah, man." said Kyo, smacking himself in the head. "The A.O. move, right! C'mon, K.T.! Let's do it!" With that Kyo and Kanjiro ran in front of Saito and Roku's path. The pulled out their weapons and started to build their battle auras. As Saito and Roku came closer and closer, their auras glowed brighter and brighter. Finally, their auras reached their peaks and then... 

"Wait a minute!" Kanjiro shouted. "Like, we were never taught an Alpha Omega Maneuver!" 

"Hey, you're right!" Kyo replied, scratching his head. Then, both turn their heads slowly at Roku and Saito, who were almost upon them. "Mother..." was all they could say before Roku ran them over. The sword didn't cut them, luckily, it just pounded them into the ground. For this fight, they were no longer a factor. 

* * * 

"Morons." Genji said calmly, holding his face in his hand. 

"Oh, Genji!" 

Genji turned to see Saito rolling the Roku Buzzsaw right at him. 

"I'm going to enjoy this!" Saito yelled. But as Roku was about to run him over, Genji became a blur and vanished. "What?!?" Saito yelled. Genji then reappeared a couple of feet behind Saito. 

"I'll enjoy this as well." he said as his body started to glow red. He then took out his bokken and pointed it at Saito. The energy surrounding his body then went into his bokken. 

"ROUJANGEN..." Genji started to shout. "...YAKU!!!!!!!!!" As he finished the cry, a huge red blast of ki shot from his sword. The blast was very quick and there was no way either Saito or Roku could dodge it. The blast, fortunately for them, wasn't aimed at them. Rather it was aimed at the ground beneath them. While the blast didn't touch them, the blast from the ground threw both Saito and Roku high into the air. "Very therapeutic." Genji said, as he sheathed his bokken and walked away. 

* * * 

Midori, Kaz, Ranma, and Akane sat wide eyed at what they saw. "How is it possible that he could do that?!" asked an extremely shocked Ranma. 

"What?" asked Noriko, who didn't what the big deal was. "Are you taking about the Roujangen Yaku?" 

"The what?" asked Kaz. 

"Roujangen Yaku. Its a ki blast using one's battle aura and weapon. Think of battle aura as the bullet and your weapon as a gun. Its a pretty standard move. Dad, taught it to Genji when he was about ten." 

Ranma looked at Noriko with total shock in his eyes. "Kuno taught him that?!" he said. 

"What's wrong, dad?" asked Midori. 

"Kuno was never capable of ki blast when he was Genji's age. It was always thought he didn't have the skills to do so. How is it possible he can do those moves?" he asked. 

"What's with the shock?!" asked Noriko, who was a bit angry that Ranma thought it was such a shock her father became so strong. "If dad was anything, it was a dedicated warrior. Besides, the point is he can do those moves." 

Ranma could tell he had struck a nerve. "Uuuhhh, Noriko. I didn't mean..." 

"Just drop it!" she shouted. 

Ranma then unexpectingly had his head caved in by a mallet blow. "You jackass!" Akane yelled. 

* * * 

When, Saito came to, his vision as well as his memory were fuzzy. He was laying in the middle of the soccerfield with Roku laying right next to him. He lifted his head and looked the area over. One spot that got his attention was the a crater in the field. Then it came back to him. Genji had used some sort of fireball against him and Roku. He looked around more and he spotted Genji walking away. Saito's blood started to boil. Saito got up and started chasing after Genji, not caring about the fight anymore. His first real mistake. 

"Yo, Saito!" yelled Roku, who was up and had his sword at the ready. "The party's over here!" This got Saito attention who turned just in time to see Roku twirling his sword around like a baton. Apparently, Roku wasn't hurt as bad as he thought. Given the size of the sword, this created a large gust of wind. The gust of wind was so large, it sent Saito flying backwards. Saito was sent all the way to the other side of the field. Saito then skidded across the field and went into the goalie's net. 

"GGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!" the entire audience shouted. 

Roku looked at Saito and was shocked to him starting to get up. "Whoa." Roku said. "Tenacious little bugger, isn't he? Looks like I'm gonna have to use maximum force." Having said that, Roku's familiar blue flame started to surround him. It then grew several times its own size, till the flame was about a quarter of the soccerfield. Roku then lifted his sword, as if he was going to do a downward slash. 

"TSUMNUUGA!!!!" Roku yelled as did a downward slash. The energy surrounding him traveled through the Surf Sword, and at Saito. It didn't look like Genji's ki blast, though. Rather, it turn into a huge ki tsunami, and traveled right at Saito. The wave was as long as the field and at least two stories. One thing Roku didn't take into account, though. It wasn't Saito's skill, the wind, or distance. It was the simple fact, that the audience was right behind Saito. 

* * * 

"Oh, this is not happening." Kaz said as a two story ki wave came his way. Most of the audience were scrambling in an attempt to avoid the shot. Most except for a few. One of those few was Ranma Saotome. 

"Daddy, why are you just sitting there?" asked Midori, who was one of the many who were trying to leave. 

"Its simple." Ranma replied. "That blast is moving too fast at us to be fully avoided. Besides, even if we outran it, the explosion it would cause would get us." 

"Can't you do anything?" asked Midori. 

"Yes. But I'm not going to." 

"WHAT!!!" everyone cried in unison. 

"Saito said he'd handle this one. And I would hate to embarrass him by helping out." 

"Let me get this straight." said Kaz. "You'd rather take that fatal blast of energy, then deprive your son of taking care of it?" 

"Um hm." 

"And I wondered where he got it from." 

* * * 

"This is bad." Saito thought to himself, as he stared at the wave. "This could not only finish me, but the people as well. I've got to do something! Wait a minute....would that work? Only one chance. Well, here goes." 

"MOKOU TAKABISHA!!!" The patented Saotome ki blast shot out from Saito. Compared to the wave, his shot wasn't that big. But Saito's intention was not to match strength with the wave. The shot was aimed at the very base of the wave. At first nothing happened, but Saito wouldn't discharge it. He kept hitting at the base with everything he had. Finally, his blast shot through the other side of the ki wave, and to everyone's amazement, the wave collapsed upon itself in a tremendous explosion. 

"Uhhh, bogus!" Roku yelled as he shielded his eyes from the blast. The flash of light was so huge, that Roku was blinded even after it was through. For a while, all Roku saw was whiteness. Then his vision started to get better, and he could see. Unfortunately, what he saw was an angry Saito Saotome. 

"TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!!!" Saito cried as he delivered 100 punches in less then a second at Roku. Roku fell backward, and did not move. The fight was over. 

"YOUR WINNER......" Noriko yelled on the microphone. "SAITO SAOTOME!!!!!!" The crowd responded with a huge roar of that could be heard all over Furinkan High. 

Saito turned and looked at the crowd who were cheering him. "So this is victory." he said to himself. He then raised both arms in triumph. The crowd once again roared in applause. "I could get use to this." 

* * * 

The crowds soon departed, leaving an exhaust Saito to sit in the middle of the soccerfield and regain his bearings. He couldn't believe he had won his first battle. Roku was a lot tougher then he gave him credit for. Roku and the other Quarter Samurai had vanished at the conculsion of the fight. This surprised Saito a bit, seeing how Genji was the only one conscious after the fight. 

"Saito!" someone called. Saito turned and saw Midori, Noriko, and Kaz running up to him. Saito got up to greet them, but was knocked back down when Midori leaped into him and hugged him. "Saito, you won, you won! I don't believe it!" 

"I'm happy that you're happy for me....but you're leaning on a bruise." Saito said. 

"Oops, sorry!" said Midori as she quickly got off. 

"And another Kodak moment is lost forever." said Noriko. 

"Saito that was amazing!" said Midori. "How you know how to defuse that tsunami?" 

"The what?" asked Saito. 

"The big ki wave." explained Kaz. 

"Yeah." said Midori. "How'd you know that digging a tunnel at its base, therefore pulling its legs from under it and causing it to collapse upon it self." 

"You don't wanna know." replied Saito. 

"Oh, c'mon! Tell us!" pleaded Midori. 

"Well...I..." started Saito, who looked a bit uneasy in saying this. "I..read it...in a....Superman comic book." 

"What?" Midori asked stunned. 

"Let me get this straight." said Kaz. "You risked all our lives with a move you saw in a comic book!" 

"Well it worked, didn't it!" Saito yelled back. 

"That it did." 

The others turned to see Ranma and Akane behind them. Ranma eyed Saito with a stern look at first, causing Saito to hang his head in shame. But then, he felt his dad's hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Ranma was actually smiling. "You did good, son." 

This caused Saito to perk up a bit. "He's right, you know." said Akane. 

"Thank you." was all Saito said. 

"However," Ranma said. "You are grounded till your 50." 

"What?!" shouted Saito. "I just saved this family 5,000,000 yen." 

"A bill that shouldn't have happened in the first place!" shouted Akane. 

"Yeah, like you two were so perfect when you were my age." 

"What do you mean by that?!?!?!" Ranma and Akane said in unison. 

Midori, Noriko, and Kaz watched as the fight continued between the three. "This will continue for a while." Midori said to the others. 

"Always does." Noriko said."Hey, you three want to come to my house. We got playstation." 

"Cool." said Midori and Kaz as they headed off to Noriko's house. Leaving Saito to fight with Ranma and Akane. 

* * * 

"Well, my son, it would appear your plan failed." 

"Not true, father." 

"Oh?" 

"The point of my plan was to test him and see the limits of his abilities and skills. So that when we do meet, I'll know him, but he won't know me." 

"Very cunning, son. Very cunning, indeed. Looks like we'll be having more fun then we thought with this boy....." 

*The End* 

*Preview* 

Ryu stared amazed at want he just witnessed. In less then a minute the 20 punks who had just tried to rob him, were now laying all over the ground. They were all obliterated by a mysterious stranger who may have just saved his life. His face was hidden by a red shawl and spiky brown hair. 

"Umm, thank, sir" said Ryu. 

The man slowly turned to the man. "Now, now. No need for thanks, citizen." he said in a broad voice and waving a finger in the air. "I was merely doing my civic duty in helping my fellow man." 

"Is there anyway I can repay you?" 

"Now what kind of human being would I be if I took a reward for doing the right thing? But you can answer me a question." 

"Sure what?" 

"Awww, good. Where can I find the Saotome School of Anything goes Martial Arts?" 

"Its in Nerima. Three miles north." 

"Awww, thank you, citizen." he said as he leaped high onto a roof. 

"Wait! Why are you going there?" 

"Why, I'm the heir to the dojo. Its only suiting that I be there." 

"What?!? Hey what's your name?!" 

The man stopped and turned slowly. "I am-" he then started doing some flashy pose. They were kind of ridiculous in Ryu's view. "...Hiro Maruyama!" 


End file.
